


The Importance of Appearances

by orphan_account



Category: Veep
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-02 02:29:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4042318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan has an idea and Amy is less than thrilled about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story kind of twists the timeline of the show. Dan's been fired and Amy's quit in similar circumstances to the show but it's a while before convention. If it needs explaining I'll try and do that later on.

8 missed calls from Dan. Amy's not sure whether to be surprised or not. It's clearly not concern because she's almost certain that he's not capable of that kind of emotion but he's definitely capable of enjoying her downfall even if he hasn't yet worked out that she was the catalyst for his. Not the cause. He was headed for that panic attack anyway and it was his own fault for hiring that idiot as a sex slave for selina anyway. She's deciding if she should call him back when he makes the choice for her.

"Dan, calling to gloat?" She couldn't really blame him. She'd have done the same thing. She did. While he was in a hospital bed. She's not sure she's totally ok with herself after that.  
"Gloat? Going by DC gossip it was actually a pretty impressive exit."  
Oh. Right.  
"So what do you want then?"  
He sighs down the phone, trying to sound offended at her assessment of his uncaring nature. It doesn't work. She can practically see the smirk forming on his face.  
"Can't I call my favourite ex-colleague to help her through a difficult time?"

The most worrying thing about that isn't the ridiculous idea of Dan being selfless. It's the fact that she probably is his favourite person he's ever worked with. Or maybe the fact that he's probably hers. Sue was so detached that Amy still has no clue how she feels about her and even though Mike and Gary were definitely nicer than Dan their incompetence and blind adoration of selina was one of her biggest frustrations. She tries to think up a smart response but she must be tired.

"No. What do you want?"  
He chuckles darkly and fuck that tiny part of her that finds that hot, fuck it to hell.  
"I'm outside your apartment."  
Amy spins around in the middle of the parking lot.  
"What the actual fuck Dan?"  
When he speaks he actually sounds slightly sheepish which she appreciates because why is he outside her apartment? Just because she hates him marginally less than the rest of her coworkers does not mean that he can invade her privacy.  
"I have wine and a plan and we can order whatever takeout you want." She hangs up the phone and groans loudly. She's buying the most expensive food she can and he is definitely paying for it.

He looks almost nervous when she gets to her door.  
"How did you even get in?"  
He smiles.  
"I buzzed your neighbour and told her that I was your boyfriend and I was here to surprise you because you've had a bad day at work."  
"She bought that?"  
"It's practically true Ames."  
She glares at him as poisonously as possible and unlocks the door.

She wants to collapse on the couch or scream into a pillow but even though dan's seen her in all manner of embarrassing situations in the office this is her home and she feels the need to remain stoic and calm. So she just flicks the light switch and takes off her coat.  
"Shall I get some glasses?" He looks more comfortable than she feels. Typical Dan. No regard for people's feelings.  
"Just sit down."  
He lifts up his hands in a gesture of surrender and after hanging his own coat on top of hers, sits down on the couch.

She uses the time in the kitchen to work out how to keep the upper hand in this situation. She's been fucked over by Dan before both literally and metaphorically and she's not letting it happen again. It's her house and even though he technically currently has a job and she doesn't, she's the one who resigned and he's the one who got fired. It's better if she makes him tell her the plan early on. If she starts drinking and gets lulled into a false sense of security then she might not see the inevitable flaw until it's too late. First though, he's going to buy her dinner.

He hangs up the phone and then walks over to sit next to her.  
"All ordered."  
"Good. Now what's the plan."  
He raises his eyebrows in mock innocence  
"Don't you want to catch up first?"  
He knows just like she does that the longer he puts it off the better chance he has of catching her semi-unaware.  
Her scowl is a sufficient answer though so he pours himself some more wine and then takes a long drink, drawing out the moment.  
"We're dating."

Amy's first, not thought through response is maybe too angrily defensive.  
"No we're not"  
"Well I'm buying you dinner aren't I?"  
She opens her mouth to retort but he cuts her off.  
"I mean that we should tell people that we're dating."  
Rather than letting him explain she tries to work it out for herself. Family values? Sympathy? A reason for them leaving? All of those? Essentially she realises that those things will only be useful if there's someone who'd appreciate them.  
"Who are we going to?"

He smiles, glad that they're on the same page.  
"We need someone who wants one over on Selina but also is stupid enough to actually buy that romance is that important."  
He's impressed that she's caught on so quickly which is a little patronising but she can't deny that she enjoys it as she lets him pour her another glass of wine.  
"So that's why we go to Thornhill."

It makes sense really and by the time the takeaway arrives she's already decided to go along with it. Stealing Selina's staff on totally sympathetic terms will buy Thornhill respect from both political players and voters. Still though it's best to play hard to get. Make Dan think he needs to work it out.  
"So we go and work for him and if he wins then we take credit for it and if he loses then it's down to him?"  
She's trying to make it sound unappealing but actually the simplicity of it is kind of brilliant.  
"So are you in?"

An hour later they're sitting facing each other on the couch, surrounded by empty takeout cartons and laptops. He's on the phone to thornhill's assistant and she's working out how to turn mike's fucked up statement to her advantage. Unstable. She was the most stable person in the team. Except sue of course. The media have picked it up and are running with it and it looks like her only option is to play it off as missing Dan so much that she couldn't cope without him.  
"Ok, thank you so much. We'll see you tomorrow."

"What was that?"  
"They're at a loose end without bill Ericsson so thornhill's going to meet us for lunch tomorrow."  
He's grinning smugly and she doesn't even mind. If they can pull this off then they deserve to be smug.  
"Not bad Dan."  
"We still need to convince him that we're madly in love."  
That's the part of the plan that she's not really looking forward to. Unfortunately it's also the central part.

After a couple more hours of preparation it's time for him to leave. He helps her tidy up while they do one final run through of their made-up love story and then they're standing at her front door and he's pulling on his coat.  
"You know your neighbour will be wondering why your boyfriend didn't stay over."  
His eyes focus briefly on her mouth before meeting with hers. She's worried that her cheeks are flushed but she keeps her tone nonchalant.  
"And what? You think she'll sell us out to Thornhill?"  
"Not Thornhill but maybe the press." 

There's a small part of her brain that's calculating the possibility that he has a point. An even smaller part is thinking about how big his hands are and how good his cologne smells and how much better it would smell if she was closer.  
"I'm not having sex with you because you tell me my neighbour might want to sell us out to the press because you didn't stay over. She probably won't even notice you leaving."  
He shrugs his shoulders as she opens the door.  
"You never know Ames, if there's money involved then anything's possible."  
She shuts the door in his face.

Dan picks her up early the next day so that they have time to go through things before the lunch.  
"Why are we eating at his house? No politicians do that."  
Dan smiles as he watches change her earrings for the third time. Unlike most guys he doesn't complain about how long it's taking her to finish getting ready. He understands the importance of appearances. How the wrong shade of red or flavour of frozen yoghurt can ruin a person's chances. He almost seems to be enjoying himself, seeing her put together her armour so precisely.

He stands behind her and rests his hands on her shoulders. She flinches and he squeezes gently.  
"Sweetheart relax, we're in love remember?"  
She turns to face him, not quite anticipating how close he is.  
"I know. I just wasn't expecting it darling."  
The last word is strained and Dan shakes his head.  
"You need to get used to it. If you love me enough to leave your job then you love me enough to let me touch you."

Maybe she shivers a bit when he says that but in her defence she can practically feel his breath on her forehead and his thumbs are rubbing over the exposed skin of her collarbones. She doesn't think he even notices he's doing it.  
"Fine, you're right. I'll try and relax."  
"Good. You look great by the way. Very stepford wife."  
She whacks him on the chest.  
"Fuck you Dan." 

Thornhill's house is big but not imposing. It looks like a home, like somewhere that a family lives and that's so different to the houses of the few politicians' houses that she's visited that she's almost intimidated in spite of herself. Once they've been buzzed through the gate Dan parks carefully and walks around to open her door before she has the chance.  
"I can open my own door Dan."  
"We have an audience Amy."  
Thornhill's wife is watching them from a first floor window so Amy lets Dan take her hand and help her out of the car. She doesn't even complain when he kisses her on the forehead and doesn't let go. His hands are smooth but not soft and his nails are perfectly trimmed. His skin is a little paler than hers. They hold hands as Dan rings the doorbell and they're greeted by thornhill's assistant.  
"Good, you're here."  
"Mr Thornhill and his wife are waiting in the kitchen for you."  
He turns away to lead them into the house.

"His wife's meeting with us as well?"  
Dan leans closer to her to hear her and then whispers his response.  
"Just stick to the plan. God this place must have cost a shitload of money."  
It's obviously a pretty old house and although the furniture looks cosy and comfortable it's almost certainly antique and worth more than most people's yearly salary.  
"I guess you may as well run for president if you have money like this."  
"Just imagine the campaign budget."

"Hi there Dan, Amy."  
He reaches out to shake Dan's hand and kisses Amy on the cheek.  
"This is my wife Lisa"  
"Lovely to meet you Mrs Thornhill."  
Amy nods and smiles in agreement, leaning into Dan who has wrapped his arm around her shoulders.  
"Oh please, call me Lisa. And Amy you look lovely."  
"She certainly does, I'm a lucky man."  
Ok he's definitely overdoing it. The Thornhills lap it up though and it's saved her from having to participate in the vacuously sugary greetings so she's not really too upset.

Mrs Thornhill quickly excuses herself, blaming a lack of political knowledge and the three of them sit down at a large round wooden table.  
"Do you know why I like this table?"  
Out of the corner of her eye Amy can see Dan preparing a charmingly witty response but Thornhill doesn't give him the opportunity to use it.  
"Because there's no head of the table. We're all equal."  
Oh god he's worse than Kent.  
Dan looks uncomfortable with the sincerity so she steps in.  
"Wow. Dan and I were saying just the other week how much we admire your attitude to leadership and equality, weren't we honey."  
She rests her palm on his hand under the table and smiles at him before turning back to Thornhill.  
"We both really appreciate the respect you give to ordinary people, it's something that's missing nowadays in politics."  
Thornhill's nodding at them and this is easier than they'd imagined. It's amazing how far flattery will get you. 

Dinner is brought out and they eat it while they talk through their rehearsed sob story. She makes sure she touches dan's arm and looks at him as adoringly as she can manage. He's better at it than she is though, somehow finding an excuse to play with her hair and kiss her on the cheek. It's actually getting a little bit overwhelming and she could do with a breather.  
"Excuse me Joe, would it be possible for me to use the bathroom?"  
He nods enthusiastically and gives her directions. Hopefully it'll give her a chance to scope out his house. See if she can pick up anything. She stands up and starts to leave the table but Dan grabs her wrist, letting his fingertips rest on her pulse.  
"Hurry back babe."  
Idiot.

An hour later they're getting into dan's car with instructions to be at Thornhill's campaign headquarters on Monday. It's in Cleveland so they'll still need to sort out accommodation and flights but they've done what they came to do.  
"Ok, I'm ready for the well-deserved praise Ames. I totally understand if you feel the need to make it up to me somehow."  
She rolls her eyes.  
"It was a good idea that we both managed to pull off."  
He's concentrating on the road so he doesn't respond. She's almost disappointed.  
"So what did you two talk about when I was in the bathroom?"  
He shrugs.  
"Nothing in particular."  
She was expecting him to boast about how whatever he said in her absence had clinched the deal.  
"Why does that make me suspicious?"  
"Come on angel. People in relationships are supposed to trust each other."  
He joins the highway and relaxes.  
"People in relationships aren't supposed to keep secrets from each other Danny."

They agree to rent a place together. It has two rooms so there's no need to share a bed but it's best to keep up appearances. It turns out that Dan had already looked at a few places so they call the realtor as soon as they get back to her apartment. They talked to Thornhill's assistant about a press release before they left so that gets emailed to them to check. They order takeout for the second time in two days and it's worrying that it already feels like a comfortable habit. The reality of what this whole thing will mean is starting to kick in and it's actually less scary than she thought it would be. Lying to people has always been part of their job. The only difference now is that they're lying in different ways. Sure they have to live together but if this campaign is anything like Selina's then they won't be spending much time there. It's all going to be fine. 

"This press release isn't bad."  
She takes a mouthful of noodles before replying.  
"You changed over half of it."  
"That's no more than I used to change of mike's speeches."  
He has a point. She imagines Mike getting asked about her and Dan and takes a moment to feel privately victorious. Admittedly she'd rather that her revenge on him didn't require her pretending to be in love with Dan. 

The apartment's nice enough. It only has one bathroom and the kitchen's tiny but they won't be spending much time here anyway. Most of their time will be spent at the campaign headquarters. Amy's campaign manager and Dan is director of communications. Working for someone like Thornhill is totally different to working with Selina. He's charming and personable and voters like his honesty so their biggest challenge is garnering support from high up political figures. They need to legitimise him. The rest of the team are a mixture of disillusioned ex-DC people in it for the money and young people who think that they're working for the guy who's going to change America for the better. She doesn't know who she pities more. They're good though. Eager or experienced enough to carry out her instructions and she enjoys having that kind of power. There are consultants but they're willing to bow to Amy's expertise or dan's confidence and who knows, maybe that statement about her being unstable actually did them some good, because people do seem almost scared of her.

The first day they finish earlier than she'd used to and to celebrate they decide to go out for dinner. She's not really sure how they reached that decision but it might have something to do with the fact that neither one of them really knows how to cook all that well and the takeout thing is getting a little bit too domestic. They talk about an upcoming speech that Dan's working on and arbitrarily rate their new colleagues. She shows him the video of Mike fielding questions about their relationship and they both laugh more genuinely than she remembers laughing in a while. They're laughing and talking in a fancy restaurant and she deliberately chose one of her nicest dresses for work today and ok they're pretty good at this fake dating thing.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ames, where did you put my coat?"  
"I didn't put it anywhere Dan. It's your coat, why would I have put it anywhere?"  
They're running late for their first big event since starting to work for Thornhill. It's almost unheard of for either of them to be anything less than punctual but they were thrown off by the news that after her previous cancellation the President of the United States and her team would be attending. That means being in a room with Selina, Gary, Mike and most probably Jonah. That news threw them off enough that their meticulously planned schedule is basically irrelevant now and Amy is still finishing her makeup when they should be leaving the house.  
"Ok I've found it, are you ready?"

Five minutes later they're in the car.  
"Why was it so important that you wear that particular coat anyway? You have more clothes than a fucking male model, surely there was another option."  
He doesn't even glance away from the road.  
"I planned this outfit perfectly Amy."  
She rolls her eyes and looks out of the window. He's been even more annoying than usual today. She was starting to get used to living with him. They work the same hours and care about the same things and since they've moved here their social lives have been interchangeable. Neither of them can really date right now so their lives revolve around work and each other and up until today it wasn't actually that bad. They spend all of their time together and it's left her more attuned to his quirks than ever. She knows all of his moods and today something is off. He's more shifty than normal, flinching away from her practiced faux-affectionate touches and acting distracted during meetings.

She doesn't really have time to work it out though because thanks to some miraculously dangerous driving they've managed to arrive on time.  
"Dan. I don't know what's up with you today and honestly I'm completely fine with that but can you please try and keep it together? We need to be even better at this than normal, if Selina and the others manage to plant doubts in Thornhill's head then we're going to be out of DC in disgrace."  
His hands are still resting on the steering wheel but he turns to face her and she's shaken by the directness of his gaze.  
"I'll be fine."  
His tone effectively puts an end to the conversation and once he's opened the door for her and slipped his arm around her waist she's already moved on.

"Well we're all just working towards a better America Harry."  
The senator laughs and takes a sip of his scotch and Amy tries to resist looking for Selina. Her anxiety about her former boss isn't lost on Dan and he leans down to whisper in her ear, disguising it as a kiss on the cheek.  
"Fucking relax Ames."  
He pulls away and smiles charmingly at the senator.  
"I'm just going to go and get drinks for me and Amy. Would you like one?"  
He shakes his head and does some kind of shooing gesture with his hand.  
"I'm fine. Don't you worry about Amy here, I'll look after her."  
Amy shudders and Dan actually squeezes her hand in sympathy.  
So this guy is even more disgusting than she's come to expect from the deeply sexist senators that she's forced to interact with. He's spent the entire conversation since Dan left looking down her dress and every other sentence has been an innuendo that's as horribly constructed as one of Mike's analogies. She's never wanted Dan to be by her side this much. She's praying for an interruption but when it comes she's nowhere near as grateful as she thought she would be. 

"Hi there Amy, senator."  
Shit. The four people she least wanted to see. Selina's dress is one that Amy recognises as being a particular favourite of Gary's. Even if she hadn't have remembered that she might have guessed it from the way he looks even more glazed over and adoring than usual.   
"Amy it's so great to see you."  
Ok so Mike clearly hasn't picked up on the tension in the small group. The senator laughs.  
"I'll leave you to catch up!"  
Oh great, now she's almost missing that misogynistic asshole.   
"Hello Mike, Gary, Ma'am."  
"Where's that boyfriend of yours Amy?"  
The sarcasm in Selina's voice is cutting and Amy can barely restrain herself from clenching her fists in her discomfort.

"Here I am Ma'am. I got you red wine, is that ok honey?"  
The relieved smile on Amy's face is, for once, 100% genuine.  
"That's perfect, thank you."  
He looks into her eyes and smiles.  
"Ok ok, cut the crap you two. We all know you're faking it."  
"I don't know what you mean Ma'am."  
"Your relationship Dan."  
"Yes Mike, thank you for helping to make my meaning clear, that was totally necessary."

Selina sounds even more stressed out than usual and even though for the most part Amy's glad about that, there's a little piece of her that instinctively wants to make things better.   
"I'm sorry to disappoint you Ma'am but this is the real thing."  
Dan links his fingers through hers casually and lifts her hand to his mouth to press a gentle kiss to her skin. She manages to keep the undignified shivering to a minimum.  
"Yep, after all that time of trying to resist I just couldn't stay away from her any longer."  
Gary actually looks like he sort of believes them which would be just like him but Selina rolls her eyes.  
"Ok whatever, just enjoy working for that stupid asshole. Come on Gary, Mike"  
She watches as the President walks away with two of her remaining staff and then Dan turns to her.  
"Time to get to work."

It's not really that hard to schmooze with politicians and they've both had plenty of practice. It's not like impressing voters. They don't need honesty or morality or any of the other values that they've both cast off as unimportant in their perpetual ladder climb. They just need to dangle the possibility of increased power in front of these people and they'll have their interest. Amy's pretty certain that the people who knew Dan and Amy at all before this are about as taken in by the romance as Selina is but if they see that the two of them are willing to keep up with the charade then that's enough. It's kind of a don't ask don't tell situation. So Dan's arm stays on her waist or his hand rests on her shoulder and she smiles up at him as though he's the greatest guy in the world and they manage to get a fair amount of people to agree to some kind of deal.

"So, we did a pretty good job."  
Dan's leading her around the dancefloor adeptly. It's kind of nice actually. Her previous boyfriends have rarely had any talent in that area. There are quite a few other couples dancing and she feels a little rush of pride at how good she knows her and Dan look together. They may not be a real couple but they're an attractive one. Just the right height and colouring to balance each other out.  
"Yeah, we're a good team."  
He smiles and she feels weirdly comfortable right now. She wasn't lying, they do make a good team. They always have done and now that they're relying on each other instead of fighting against each other to move up the ranks it's even more obvious.   
"Ok, I just have to go and do something but keep that in mind."

Thankfully Dan had the sense to lead her over to a corner before he leaves but she still feels exposed and awkward. She should be used to this whole environment by now but the presence of her old colleagues and boss is unsettling to say the least. Where is Dan anyway? If it's something to do with Thornhill's campaign then he should have run it by her. She's starting to angrily text him when she sees him walk onto the stage at the end of the room. He talks to the leader of the band and waves out to the assembled crowd who are watching him with varying degrees of interest. He takes a microphone and Amy freezes completely, running through possible outcomes of the situation in her head. Only about half of them are good and that is far less than ideal.  
"Hello everyone, isn't this a wonderful evening."  
There's halfhearted applause from around the room and she looks around for Thornhill to see if he knows what's going on. He's smiling at Dan and for some reason that sends chills up Amy's spine. If that fuckweasel is planning to fuck this up for her.  
"Now if you all don't mind there's something I'd like to do so Ames do you want to come up here?"

Shit. What.  
"Come on honey, don't be shy."  
She slowly starts to walk towards the stage, avoiding meeting anyone's gaze which is pretty difficult when everyone in the room is staring at her. Dan's holding out his hand even though she's too far away to take it and her mind focuses in on that. It's a friendly, apparently romantic gesture but right now it feels like it's the hand that's going to push her off a cliff. She has an idea of what might be happening but she's desperately hoping that she's wrong as much as she hates to be. She reaches him and takes his hand and lets him lead her onto the stage and then watches as he takes a step back from her. 

"Amy Brookheimer."  
Oh god no. She fucking hates this fucking asshole.  
"When we first met I just thought you were a super hot, kind of uptight overly ambitious DC girl. I wasn't wrong."  
That actually gets a laugh. What is wrong with these people?  
"The thing is that as well as being all those things you're also brilliantly smart and funny and I never get bored of you. You're one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen and arguing with you and making up with you has been the best part of my day since we first started to work together. I owe the President a thank you for bringing me back into your life and giving me the chance to prove myself worthy of you, even if I had to keep it a secret."  
Even in her state of extreme fury she can appreciate the beauty of that sentence. Placing the blame on Selina without seeming petty or resentful is an impressive move.  
"But we don't have to keep it a secret anymore."

People gasp as he kneels down and she is so tempted to slam her knee into his nose. He pulls a small box out of his pocket and ok there's no way she can pretend that this is anything other than a proposal. He looks up at her, clearly imploring her to go along with this and because she values her career and reputation she tries her best to look happy-shocked rather than shocked and disgusted.   
"Amy Brookheimer. We're a great team and I want to be part of that team for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"  
He's playing the adoring, slightly nervous boyfriend and she knows him well enough that the nervousness part of that isn't totally an act. He's not sure she'll say yes. She could still say no, walk off this stage and out of this room and move on with her life. It's so so tempting.  
"Yes."

He pushes the ring onto her finger and it fits perfectly which is frankly just annoying. He stands up and grabs her other hand.  
"Kiss me."  
It's a whisper and even if it wasn't no one would be able to hear it over the enthusiastic applause and cheering. People are the worst.  
"What?"  
He glares at her and lifts his hand up to her cheek.  
"We just got engaged Amy, smile and kiss me."  
She pulls his face down to hers and presses their lips together. His hands go to her waist and he dips her backwards like they're in a romantic movie. Show off. His lips are unreasonably soft and his hands are large and warm through the fabric of her dress and she's not enjoying herself. Not even a little bit.


	3. Chapter 3

"What the fuck are you doing Dan? What the actual fuck?"  
She wants to be more eloquent. She knows she should be more quiet. After he thanked Thornhill for helping him on stage and they managed to get rid of the people trying to congratulate them they scoped out this corridor pretty well but she's not sure it was well enough for her to be talking this loudly.  
"It makes sense Amy. It shows that we're committed to this."  
"But we're not committed to this Dan, we can't get married. That's fucking forever."  
He grabs her shoulders and pushes her against the wall.  
"Calm the fuck down. You could blow up this whole fucking thing because you're too fucking emotional about these things."  
She's about to yell at him again when she sees their boss walk around the corner. She groans in frustration and pulls Dan's body against hers, pressing her lips to his in what she hopes looks like a sufficiently passionate kiss.

"Oops, I'd better leave you two alone."  
When she leans out of the kiss Dan looks momentarily dazed and kind of turned on. There's a rush of smugness through her that she doesn't even try to suppress. He deserves it.  
"No don't worry Joe. After all, I owe this to you."  
She moves away from Dan to shake his hand but instead he kisses her affectionately on the cheek in a way that reminds her a little of her father. Oh god her father. She's going to have to tell her family about this.  
"Well it was the least I could do, I've always been a romantic. Speaking of romance, I'd better find Lisa. See you two tomorrow."  
He shakes Dan's hand briskly and walks away down the corridor.  
"Amy can we?"  
"We're leaving now."

The drive back to their apartment is completed in total silence. Usually they would take the time to debrief and break down the information they'd gained and start to lay out their next strategy. Right now though she's simmering with anger, the ring heavy and beautiful on her left hand. She's considered taking it off but something stopped her and her fingers are just resting over it, covering it from view. An engagement is final and important. A relationship is easily dissolved and that had been her assumption. They'd get as far as they could with Thornhill and then they could quietly break up and make up an excuse about work and "remain good friends" and no one would really care. This makes that far more difficult. An engagement wouldn't disappear so quickly. People will expect them to plan a wedding, their families will probably try to get involved. The quick check of her phone informed her that it was already making its way through the blogs before they'd even left. Even if he was determined to do this, why didn't he just tell her? They were supposed to be doing this together.

"Ok so we've had a big night, maybe we should just go to bed and we can discuss this tomorrow."  
She's not letting him get away with it this easily.  
"No we won't. We're talking about this now. Why the fuck did you do this Dan? You made a huge decision and you didn't tell me and now we're fucking engaged. To be married."  
He has the decency to look nervous.  
"When we were at Thornhill's house and you went to the bathroom we were talking and I was trying to sell the idea that I was in love with you and he asked why we weren't engaged and I couldn't think of a reason so I said I was planning to propose."  
She groans so deeply that it's practically a growl.  
"So why didn't you just tell me? We're supposed to be doing this together."

"You would have said no and maybe even backed out of this whole thing even though this is the best thing for both of our careers. You would have let your feelings get in the way of making the right decision. I knew if asked you in public then you'd say yes and I could explain it to you afterwards."  
"Let my feelings get in the way? We're engaged Dan. I don't want to marry you, you don't want to marry me. You don't want to marry anyone all you care about is fucking people over to get to the top."  
He takes two slow steps towards her as though he's trying to avoid spooking her, like she's a lion and he's a wildlife photographer and he's worried about being ripped to shreds. When she doesn't immediately attack him or start screaming at him again he starts to speak in a quiet, measured tone.  
"Amy, I'm sorry that I had to do it like this. I should have told you. You're right this is about getting to the top but it's also about you."  
"Don't even try to pretend this was you being anything but selfish Dan."

She starts to leave the room, too keyed up to even shout at him anymore but he follows her into the kitchen.  
"Amy you're right I never wanted to get married. All of that soulmate, love of your life bullshit obviously doesn't appeal to me. It's a career move."  
"So I'm just getting dragged into it because I'm convenient."  
"No you're here because you're just the same. Don't pretend that you're any different. You lied with me, you agreed with this, you care enough about your career that you'd rather agree to marry me than risk ruining it."  
He's not speaking loudly but his tone is angry and his fists are clenched.  
"You don't get to make that decision for me Dan. It's not your choice."

He runs his hands through his hair. He's changed so much since the start of the evening. His composure is totally gone and as much as she's ready to kill him right now she always enjoys seeing him lose control. It humanises him. He's breathing heavily and his cheeks are red. His tie and the collar of his shirt are lopsided and his hair is sticking up at odd angles. She wonders whether she looks much better.  
"Fine, we're going to discuss this tomorrow. I can't deal with you anymore tonight."  
She walks out of the room and heads up the stairs.  
"Amy wait. I just want you to know that I meant what I said earlier. Yes you're convenient but there's a reason for that. There's a reason I'm here with you."  
"I'm going to bed Dan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as an aside. Everything that's happened so far in this story has happened before the debate. I know that messes with the timeline a lot.


	4. Chapter 4

She falls asleep quicker than she would have expected, her anger dissipating once she's alone in her bed. Unfortunately she doesn't sleep for long, waking up before the sun has risen. As soon as she sits up she's cold and she curses herself for not doing something about the heating earlier that night. She’s pretty sure that no matter what the weather’s like outside this place manages to be freezing at night. She decides to go downstairs and do something about it so she pulls a sweater from the radiator next to her bed. She presses it to her face to find out whether or not it's dry and then pulls it over her head. When it comes down to the middle of her thighs she realises that there's no way it can be hers. As potentially embarrassing as Dan seeing her wearing his sweater is, it's warm and he's unlikely to be awake. She considers getting something from her closet but the amount of warm clothing that she brought to Ohio combined with the fact that they did laundry yesterday leaves her with nothing but dresses and suits so it looks like this is the best option.

The apartment is new so there's not a single creak as she leaves her room and starts to walk down the corridor. She glances at Dan's room quickly and is relieved to see that the door's shut. She still treads carefully, not wanting to risk waiting him. Arguing with him again is not what she wants right now. Not because she's forgiven him but because at this point convincing people that they're getting married, maybe even throwing a fucking wedding is a necessity. No one is going to expect them to get married before the debate and before the presidential candidate is decided and if they manage to make that their boss then they'll have until after the election. If they don't succeed then she'll be expected to throw herself into wedding planning. People will still be watching them, waiting for them to slip up and if they do then she can say goodbye to any dream she has of making it back to the white house on her own terms.  
"Amy?"

She spins around almost guiltily.  
"You're awake."  
He's frowning at her and she catches his gaze resting momentarily on her legs.  
"I haven't been to sleep. Is that my sweater."  
The temptation to say something cutting is hard to resist but she settles for rolling her eyes, hoping to maintain an air of dignity. He takes her silence as a confirmation and smirks.  
"Awww, cute."  
She's officially taking back her previous plans to not argue with him, she wants to punch him in his fucking smugly handsome face.  
"Shut up Dan, I'm still not happy with you."

There's a momentary flash of discomfort on his face which is gratifying.  
"I am really sorry about that."  
"Whatever Dan. You've literally never been sorry for anything."  
He winces and she would feel bad but come on it can hardly be news to him that she thinks he's a remorseless asshole without a soul. He runs his hand through his hair and she really would rather that she didn't find that attractive. She must really be tired.  
"I should have told you, we're partners. I have to trust you."  
"Yeah, you do."

He nods slowly at her and then swallows, gearing himself up to say something. It's not something that happens often and she regards him with undisguised interest as he prepares himself.  
"You're right but you also have to trust me. I'm doing this for you as well."  
"Why the fuck would I believe that? When have you ever done something for someone else?"  
"We want the same things. We always do and now we have an opportunity to get them, a way to make people like us. Everyone thinks that we're cold and heartless and this could change that. It's family values, it's a love story, it's us actually caring about someone other than ourselves."  
"Ok so you're doing this for me because I'm useful to you?"  
He sighs like she's misunderstanding him but how can she be when all he's ever done is fuck her over.

"I'm doing this for you and with you because there's no one else I'd rather do this with or for. Yeah I could find someone better connected than you but I don't want that. This is a commitment, it's long-term and I want someone who doesn't make me want to shoot myself in the face."  
"Because you never get bored of me?"  
Her tone is so deeply sarcastic that she's surprised at herself. She's not used to honesty or sincerity from him and it's caught her horribly unprepared.  
"Christ Amy, what do you need me to say? I'm not Ed, I'm not about to proclaim my fucking love for you. We're good together and we could have everything we've ever wanted, isn't that enough."  
"Fuck you Dan."

"It's true and you know it. That's not what you want."  
"And this is? Being married to you?"  
He grabs her shoulders too tightly and looks directly into her eyes, his gaze strong and slightly manic. He's so sure that he's right, that this is what's best for them. Then again he's always been unbelievably stubborn. Her heart is pounding but it's not out of fear and it's not solely anger. Because he has a point. They are good for each other. She enjoys this, thrives on the competition. She doesn't want a sweetly doting husband or worse a patronising one. Enough of her wants this that she's still here, still talking to him about this. For some reason she wants him. It's not a new feeling, this strange, messy fascination with him. It's been there since the moment she first met him, constantly shifting from sexual to romantic to full of rage. It's frustrating at best and horribly unhealthy at worst but it's been one of the constants of her life for this long already and it's nowhere near as shocking as it should be that it's going to shape the rest of it. "Amy, please just think about it."

She wants to drag it out, to make him wait but the damage is done. What they have to do is so obviously less than ideal but it's necessary and she's already too entangled in this mess to be able to get out easily. "Fine. I'll do it. We'll get married."  
"Really."  
There's no way that he should be allowed to look that fucking pleased because it's latching on to the part of her that never quite managed to crush that little piece of hope inside her that was born when they first met.  
"Yes but you're planning everything."  
"That's probably for the best."  
He lets go of her and she shifts her weight, looking at him.  
"I'm going to bed."

She's given up on the heating, she can just lie in her bed with her laptop. Maybe she should just ask him to fix it. She’s agreed to marry him, the least he can do is turn on the heating.  
"Hey, aren't you forgetting something?"  
He's leaning on the wall and giving her that look. The one that made a more naive Amy melt.  
"To murder you and dispose of your body?"  
He chuckles and his eyes look over her body. She keeps her composure and meets his eyes calmly.  
"That's my sweater."

He reaches out and touches her arm in a way that's a total contrast of his earlier controlling gesture. It's clearly his way of hitting on her and maybe if she was feeling more alert and less worn out by their disagreements then she'd react violently and angrily but she just glances down at his hand and then back up to his face.  
"What, and you want it back?"  
He shrugs and she's already tired of this. Usually she'd enjoy trying to outsmart him or out-flirt him but right now she just needs to know what's going to happen next.  
"Ok then, here you go."  
She pulls it over her head, not bothering to take her time. There's no point. Something about him leaves her with a lack of shyness that she's never had with anyone else. Maybe it's the way that he's never been shy about making it clear how attracted to her he is. She's pretty sure he's never been shy about anything.

"Thank you."  
He grabs the sweater out of her hands and then throws it over his shoulder and grips her waist, pushing her back against the wall.  
"I thought you wanted it back."  
"I decided that there were more pressing concerns."  
He leans down to kiss her but she stops him.  
"What's the protocol for this? Sex within this whole fake marriage situation."  
"Commitment to the role. We're a newly-engaged couple, of course we're going to be having sex."  
She's still shaking her head at that when he kisses her.

He pushes her back against the wall hard but he's kissing her lazily. She considers speeding things up, biting his lip or dragging him into her bedroom. Instead though she can't stop thinking about just how much time they have. Ok so this marriage won't need to last forever but whatever happens on election night, if people find out that they were lying then they'll be total pariahs. So she kisses him back slowly, pressing her fingertips against the nape of his neck and gently touching her tongue to his. He moans softly into her mouth and drags his short fingernails lightly across her skin. It sends flashes of pleasure along her stomach and down her spine and she bites back a moan, pushing her lips harder against his.  
"My room or yours?"  
It's a ragged whisper into the crook of her neck and Amy takes a moment to think before deciding. She's always needed her space.  
"Yours"

She assumes that he'll just pull away and expect her to follow him but instead he places his hands at the back of her thighs and lifts her legs to wrap around him. It's a not at all unpleasant experience, pressed to the base of his stomach as she peppers quick kisses on his jaw. The door to his room is pushed open and she's dropped unceremoniously on his bed. She's about to complain but then he pulls his shirt over his head and climbs on top of her, grinding his hips against hers. His hands are so big and warm and he grabs her wrists and holds them above her head. Her unwillingness to not be in control surfaces before long and she bites his lip hard, taking advantage of his momentary distraction to escape and then climb on top of him. She expects him to fight back but he just looks up at her. He runs his hands up her sides and then over her back to unhook her bra. His expression is softer than she would have expected with her hips aligned with his and when her breasts are revealed he sighs deeply and then sits up to kiss her.

She climbs off of his lap to let him remove the rest of his clothes and then takes off her underwear awkwardly, inhibited by her position on the bed. He's smirking at her as she undresses but when she sits on his lap and his dick brushes against her he moans throatily and she can't resist grinding against him again, watching his eyes roll backwards.  
"Ames."  
It's strangled and hushed and his expression is almost awed, his hands reaching for her breasts.  
"Too much for you Dan?"  
She runs her hand down his chest towards his crotch, resting the fingers of her other hand on his shoulder.  
"Fuck, never."  
One of his hands grips her breast, his thumb brushing her nipple. His other hand takes hold of her thigh, pushing her legs open and leaning her back against the headboard. It's an unexpected move. She wasn't lying when she told Selina that he was bad at foreplay but now he's holding her down and sliding his body down the mattress, his eyes meeting hers.  
"Ready?"  
"For what, crushing disappointment?"  
He sighs deeply and squeezes her thigh. This is safer ground. A battle in which neither of them is willing to admit that the other might have an advantage. It makes it easier to blame this whole thing on bubbled over resentment and years of tension rather than anything more serious.

The first touch of his tongue on her clit has her hissing and grabbing his hair. It's not long enough for her to pull so she just scrapes her nails across his scalp, eliciting a noise that feels and sounds somewhere between a purr and a growl. He's teasing her and she wants to urge him to move faster, to apply more pressure but she knows that keeping her composure will frustrate him. They may be working together this time around but she still wants to keep the upper hand. So she just tilts her head back until it touches the wall and lets him set the pace. He begins to move more quickly and she moans softly almost as if her voice is testing itself, readjusting to making sounds that it hasn't made in a while. He catches it and lifts his head to look at her. She waits for a smug comment but instead he kisses the skin of her abdomen and then repositions himself entirely so that her whole body is pressed against his.

**Author's Note:**

> This is by no means the first "fake relationship for career purposes" Dan/Amy fic but hopefully it deals with things in a slightly different way.


End file.
